Byte Sized bits of History

The Yên Bái mutiny was an uprising of Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army on this day in 1930 in collaboration with civilian supporters who were members of the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDĐ, the Vietnamese Nationalist Party).

The aim of the revolt was to inspire a wider uprising among the general populace in an attempt to overthrow the colonial regime and establish independence. The VNQDĐ had previously attempted to engage in clandestine activities to undermine French rule, but increasing French scrutiny on their activities led to their leadership group taking the risk of staging a large scale military attack in the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam.

Shortly after midnight on 10 February, about 50 Vietnamese soldiers (Tirailleurs indochinois) of the 4th Regiment of Tonkinese Rifles within the Yen Bay garrison turned on their French officers with assistance from about sixty civilian VNQDDĐ members who invaded the camp from the outside. The mutiny failed within 24 hours when the majority of the Vietnamese soldiers in the garrison refused to participate and remained loyal to the colonial army. Further sporadic attacks occurred across the Delta region, with little impact. French retribution to the attack was swift and decisive. The main leaders of the VNQDD were arrested, tried and put to death, effectively ending the military threat of what was previously the leading Vietnamese nationalist revolutionary organisation.

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Rod

I am an ex-teacher having taught Ancient and Modern History, Social Science and Computing (weird combo ... hey) in the NSW (Australian) education system. I completed my degree at the same time as Maxx, but majored more in Modern History and Political Science before doing a Graduate Dip. Ed. and teaching. I have a strong interest in military history (all periods) but love reading about all aspects of history (you might call me a history junkie). I believe learning should be a life long pursuit and that the study of history is integral to the development of a mature, modern 'thinking' and 'questioning' society.